


Sweet Dreams

by benjji2795



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Bad Dreams, Cuddling, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-07-10 14:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6988249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjji2795/pseuds/benjji2795
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dex has a nightmare, Nursey is there to comfort him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> This was one of the requests I got for my ficlet series, but after I wrote it, I decided it was just long enough to post as its own fic.
> 
> Prompt (from [bahoreal](http://bahoreal.tumblr.com)):  
>  _Nurseydex where they get the attic dibs and end up both sleeping on the bottom bunk. Did one of them have a nightmare?? Was dex too lazy to fix the broken slat on the top bunk?? Your choice omg_

Derek gets woken up by a noise that sounds like a whimper. At first, he thinks nothing of it and closes his eyes to fall back asleep. The attic made all kinds of strange noises, and he still was just trying to get used to them all.

 

“No, don’t…” Dex groans softly from the bunk below Derek, making him open his eyes again.

 

He tosses his blankets off and crawls over to the edge of his bed, leaning over the side to peer down at Dex. “Don’t what?” he asks.

 

Dex’s eyes are still squeezed shut, his face contorted into an expression similar to the ones he gets when he’s taken a particularly hard check, like he’s in some kind of pain. His blankets are a tangled mess around him, likely from tossing and turning.

 

“Nursey, stop!” Dex says more forcefully, though his words are slurred like he’s half-asleep.

 

“I’m not doing anything,” Derek protests. He’s practically half-asleep himself, so he’s having a hard time figuring out what Dex is upset with him for.

 

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Derek carefully climbs down from the top bunk, stepping over and kneeling down at the side of Dex’s bed. Now that he’s closer, he can see the sweat covering his face, shining in the pale moonlight.

 

“Don’t go…please,” Dex murmurs, reaching his hand out and grasping at nothing but empty air.

 

As Derek becomes more awake, it finally occurs to him that Dex might be dreaming and judging by his actions and words, it seems like it’s probably an intense nightmare.

 

Seeing how distressed it’s making Dex, Derek reaches out and grabs Dex’s shoulder, shaking him lightly. “Dex, wake up.”

 

Dex’s eyes fly open, and flails, sitting up rapidly. He blinks in the darkness, looking around the attic. His eyes fall on Derek, and he covers his face.

 

“Hey man, are you okay?” Derek asks.

 

Dex slumps over, taking short, gasping breaths. “What?” he replies shakily. “Oh yeah, I’m—I’m fine.”

 

They’ve been partners for two years, and Derek has gotten pretty good at reading Dex. He’s very sure that at this moment, Dex is not fine.

 

“Dex—”

 

“Really Nursey, I’m okay,” Dex interrupts, his voice breaking halfway through (if ever there was a sign Dex wasn’t okay…). “You can go back to sleep.”

 

Dex’s hands are still covering his face, and Derek thinks he can hear a few sniffles escaping from behind them, and he can also see that Dex’s shoulders are shaking.

 

Derek gently puts a hand on Dex’s arm and tugs Dex toward him. Dex willingly goes, letting Derek wrap his arms around him.

 

“I’m right here,” Derek whispers as Dex lets out a choked sob. “Don’t worry, I’m going to stay right here.”

 

Derek rocks back and forth gently, holding Dex as he cries into his shoulder. He doesn’t know how long they stay like that, but eventually Dex lifts his head up.

 

“I’m sorry,” Dex says, flushing red.

 

Derek knows that Dex hates appearing vulnerable and is probably very embarrassed about crying on him, so he tries to smile at Dex reassuringly.

 

“It’s totally cool.”

 

“Okay,” Dex nods, swiping at his cheeks. “So uh, you can—you can go back to your bunk now,” he adds slowly, like he’s uncertain about wanting Derek to go.

 

“Do you really want me to?” Derek questions.

 

Dex shrugs.

 

“I don’t have to. If it would make you feel better,” Derek continues.

 

“You don’t—”

 

Dex pauses for a long second, seemingly reconsidering how he wants to answer Derek.

 

“Yeah. Would you?”

 

Derek nods and climbs over Dex into the bed. He straightens out the blankets, untangling them from around Dex and laying it over both their legs. He opens his arms, inviting Dex into them.

 

Dex doesn’t hesitate, snaking his arms around Derek’s middle, cuddling into him.

 

Derek holds onto Dex tightly and little by little, the muscles in Dex’s body start to unclench, and he relaxes into Derek.

 

“Thanks,” Dex says, yawning. His warm breath hits Derek’s neck and makes him shiver slightly.

 

“You’re welcome,” Derek mumbles, tilting his head down, placing a gentle kiss into Dex’s short red hair. Derek freezes immediately when he realizes what he’s done.

 

Dex puts both hands on his chest and pushes him back. Derek’s heart sinks. Dex clearly wasn’t comfortable with that. He was sleepy and drunk on having Dex so near to him and didn’t think and went too far. Now Dex was going to—

 

That thought stops in its tracks as a pair of lips meet his own, pressing into them softly but insistently. It takes Derek a few seconds to realize that _Dex is kissing him!_

 

Derek kisses back, but it’s something he does only on instinct, as his mind is running to catch up to what is happening.

 

“Uhhh,” Derek utters when Dex breaks the kiss, unable to string a coherent group of words together.

 

“I figured that since you—never mind. I’m sorry,” Dex mumbles, trying to roll away from him.

 

Derek tightens his arms around Dex, pulling him back in.

 

“You were—I didn’t—you really feel that way about me?” Derek asks, looking into those amber eyes that he knows he could get lost in.

 

“Of course I do. I was having a nightmare about you—leaving and—” Dex says.

 

“Shh,” Derek shushes when Dex’s face falls. “It’s okay, I’m not leaving.”

 

“Good,” Dex grins, before he yawns again. “I’m—wow, I’m really tired. Can we talk about this more in the morning?”

 

“Yeah Dex, sure,” Derek says. He smiles, leaning over and pecking Dex’s lips. “G’night Dex. Sweet dreams.”

 

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Dex replies, snuggling his head into the crook of Derek’s neck. “Night Nursey.”

 

They both sleep better the rest of that night than any other night they’d spent in the attic.


End file.
